Monday, May 22, 2017

Immersive experiences communicate deeper and help convert viewers into donors, shows the most recent study from Nielsen on potential VR adopters (paVRr). The study gauged attitudes of 1,000 paVRrs aged 18-54 about 134 charities. The group appeared to be advocates of technology and education in general, with 49% supporting increased technology access and 41% supporting universal primary education.

To further measure the effectiveness of VR as a donation tool, Nielsen created an experiential setting in its Las Vegas research labs focusing on 14 pieces of charity VR content: about 100 US consumers viewed a 360 video in Samsung Gear, while another 100 viewed a piece of midroll (i.e.,digital ad that appears in the middle of a video) on a tablet as a comparison. The experiment showed that those who viewed the VR content were significantly more likely to recall the brand than those who viewed the midroll (84% vs. 53%). They were also more likely to seek additional info about the brand (48% vs. 37%). Just as impressively, 48% of those who viewed the 360 video indicated they would donate to the viewed causes afterward vs. 38% of those who watched the midroll.

The same efficacy in communication can be brought to any 'pitch' -- social or commercial. It's a tremendous opportunity for anyone looking to stand out of the crowd while asking for donations for a cause, seeking start up funding, or asking to be a brand's agency of record.

The hopeful summary on voice technology from Digiday ends on a somewhat low note: It's hard to get return users on voice apps. In fact, only 3 percent of those who used Google home app skills in late December were actively using these skills in the second week. Holiday effect? Maybe. This trend signals a utility problem. Technologies take off because they help us save time, money. Or they entertain us. No matter what the creative wrap around a voice technology might be, it needs to do these things efficiently or it will not stick.

Monday, April 24, 2017

I am fascinated by VR and related technologies that can speed up time to market. Imagine if your brainstorm sessions were more fruitful, you could demo the ideas more effectively and sell more and quickly. VR programs such as Tilt Brush, Quill, A-Painter give users the tools to illustrate and collaborate on ideas. Powerpoint - move over! These programs help convey ideas in immersive settings and allow for ideas to flourish vs. forcing things into quadrants.

Once you draw up the ideas, then you can illustrate in fine detail with 3D modeling software. My colleagues Harry Brisson and Matt Price recommended I check out Blender 3D and Autodesk, maker of Maya and 3D Studio Max. There is also Unity -- an open source platform where majority of current VR/AR apps are created.

Majority of use cases for VR/AR/3D software are in entertainment (e.g., animation), education (e.g., training) and healthcare (e.g., doctors training on surgical procedures). They all underscore how we can create both efficient and higher quality storytelling/learning environments.

What if we were able to quantify how VR enabled groups to come up with more and better ideas, got agencies and clients to see eye to eye and overall just converted better? Any other ideas on which VR features or programs can be used in business?

Monday, April 3, 2017

If people can get emotional about content, why should we be surprised about emotional connections with robots that have life like features and voices? Hasbro's robotic cat that keeps Alzheimer patients company is a micro example of how AI can be social and part of everyday life.

As we step into the post-real era, there are a growing number of industry reports on how artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to replace human labor. The Obama Administration's report on the topic noted a broad range (nine to 47 percent) of the US labor force can be threatened by AI -- especially if new jobs are not created at similar or higher rates than lost jobs. Spreading news of his latest AI-based initiative, Neuralink, Elon Musk even professes that digital super intelligence will surpass that of humans and take over.

Ultimately institutions look for efficiency - AI will take over in cases where it's cheaper than the real life alternative.

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

I had the honor and pleasure of attending a luncheon, hosted by Burcu Mirza, with board members of KAGIDER (Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey) who were in town for meetings at the UN. KAGIDER has an amazing mentorship program where they coach select young, low-income, high-potential women seeking employment and entrepreneurship. Their graduates change their (and their community's) destiny by either starting their own businesses or becoming successful at firms they join. KAGIDER leaders cited research pointing to millions of young women of employment age in emerging countries, who are neither able to pursue education, nor find employment. KAGIDER's work is to address this problem. Below is what I shared as my point of view on emerging technology and communication trends, which lead to a dynamic discussion on how these technologies can be used in educating and giving employment skills to young women.

Whatever the technology label might be, we have transcended
into post-reality era.

A time when we believe what technology tells us more so than
what we see in front of us. For instance, believing our GPS more than the
traffic coming towards us on a one-lane street. Or, when children say good bye
to Google Home when leaving the apartment.

There are a few technologies that are driving our
post-reality vision as ‘under currents’:

1.With technologies such as VR and AR, this post-reality vision becomes more immersive and
believable. And truth/experiences vary by each viewer not the director or
the editor. Before we were told stories by movie directors, news anchors,
journalists… Today viewers can look ever which way when immersed in a VR story.
We choose the angle in which we’ll
take that story – being our own editors.

2.Voice
activation (e.g., Alexa, Echo, Siri, Adobe’s voice based photo editing
technology) humanizes automation, IoT and other connected devices. They induce emotion and forge relations
between humans and AI. (Students in a NY State University hacked Alexa to break
up with it… some classmates who heard about the break up expressed concern.
Post reality experience in this case is heightened by voice and emotion.)

Some companies are taking advantage of this technology in
creative ways: eBay is offering VR experience in shops, Google is partnering
with BMW and Gap on AR shopping experiences. Adobe is launching voice-based
photo editing technology.

VR/AR are poised to generate significant dollars for
technology and content makers. Deloitte called it the billion dollar niche in
2016. Some sources, such as Digi-Capital, make bolder predictions, forecasting
over 100 billion dollars by 2020, disrupting mobile.

As these emerging technologies edge their way to become
mainstream, gender and generational gaps
appear. Nielsen study on VR technology (2016) shows a typical early
adoption story on VR: Male and younger
audiences are more likely to adopt. Women not as likely to be interested or
aware!

VR can fundamentally change the way we communicate in arts and
politics. And if women are typically the storytellers, where does that put the
female voice in arts, news, commerce and politics? If shopping is gamified in
ways that suit men, will women – who are responsible for grand majority of
household purchases-- buy more?

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About Me

I am a VP of Media Analytics Consulting at Nielsen and the author of Implementing Word of Mouth Marketing. My goal is to provide a window to the future by showing what's next in social media through smart research and case studies. The posts reflect my personal opinions, not those of my employer.